1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus having an automatic focusing function.
2. Description of the Related Art
Up to now, a method of intentionally moving a focusing area by a photographer has been used in order to perform a further advanced focus operation in a handy type image pickup apparatus having an automatic focusing function.
US Patent Published Application No. 2006/0033834 and US Patent Published Application No. 2006/0083506 discuss a method of adjustably moving the focusing area displayed on a viewfinder by a photographer using a control unit such as a joystick or a trackball while the image pickup apparatus is mounted on a tripod.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-173980 discusses a method of indicating the focusing area by bringing a finger of the photographer into direct contact with a touch panel while the image pickup apparatus is carried on the shoulder.
However, any of the conventional examples described above requires a specific unit or part for moving the focusing area, and hence the entire system is increased in size or the structure is complicated because of an increase in the number of parts. For the same reason, in order to move the focusing area by the photographer, the specific operation for moving the focusing area, such as the operation of the joystick or the finger operation of the touch panel is required. Therefore, a problem occurs that the degree of freedom of shooting reduces.